Chapter 31: Yoru

Yoru gazed at the national park. It was large and beautiful. Birds flew from tree to tree and Elk grazed, but it was stained. Anti-Magic poets walked in between the trees. Yoru counted at least five per group.

When they talked the words “Elben Ablebren” came up a lot.

“Josh, what do you think ‘Elben Ablebren’ is?” asked Yoru.

“Their leader, maybe,” replied Josh.

They were atop a hill. It provided them cover against the Anti-Magic poets. Yoru slid down the hill with Josh in tow.

Yoru ducked behind a tree as another group of poets passed. How many of these are there?

Yoru gave Josh the signal to keep moving. Josh tried to duck behind another tree but he tripped on a rock and tumbled into the tree.

Yoru whipped his head towards the poet’s, who were turning around. His heart started beating faster and faster. When the poet had made a full three hundred sixty degree turn. He had summoned a bow and shot an arrow at its head.

Yoru started to calm down when the other poets did not turn around.

That was out the window when they fell to the ground.

A tall muscular figure with a fox mask and draping robes stood on them. They were holding a sword in one hand, but the handle had shattered, because of this they were bleeding at the hand.

Yoru braced for a fight, but the figure disappeared in a flash of light.

“What was that?” asked Josh.

“I don’t know, but maybe it’s an ally,” said Yoru. “I mean it killed some poets.”

“Sure…” said Josh, stowing his axe.

Yoru and Josh continued through the brush of the forest. Buffalo passed by them as branches whipped at their faces and scraped their shoulders. The wind whistled in the air as they sneaked through the undergrowth of Jasper National Park.

Finally they approached the large building in Jasper National Park known as the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Normally it was a bustling lodge full of tourists and sightseers, but now it was deserted. It seemed that people had thought that the magic and such that had come back to the world was a pandemic or even bio-weapons made by foreign governments.

Yoru and Josh knew this wasn’t the truth, of course, but they didn’t think a nation of panicking civilians would believe two fifteen year olds.

The lodge was taken over by poets. The windows had the lifeless masks of the poets guarding them. On the roof several poets holding bows. At the main gate there were poets wielding swords and axes. It seemed like an impenetrable fortress.

“We have to get in there somehow,” said Josh.

Yoru shuffled down the hill.

“Where are you going!” whispered Josh. “Get back here, they’ll see you!”

I’ve got this, I've got this.

Yoru whispered, “Tra.” He disappeared and continued slinking down the hill.

Josh, please stay there, Yoru pleaded. As long as I’m not too close to the poets I’ll be fine.

Yoru gazed toward the fortress. The doors were clad with poets. It seemed as if there were no gaps in the fortress to sneak in. If Yoru got too close to the poets his invisibility would go away and his cover would be blown, but he needed to get close to the poets to get into the lodge.

As Yoru approached the gate, pressed against the ground scooching along on the floor, the poets tilted their heads towards him.

“Anomaly detected…scanning…scanning…”

Yoru panicked. He started scooching faster, making even more noise. Come on, come on, come on! I can do this!

He rolled forward and, “Anomaly no longer detected…canceling scan.” he made it. Yoru opened the door a crack and snuck inside. Yoru was panting and sweating from all the pores on his body as he collapsed on the floor. He was hiding under the check in desk. His invisibility was gone and he was vulnerable to the poets, but he couldn’t help but fall asleep.

As his eyes drooped and his consciousness slipped from his grasp he saw the void. Yoru had always thought of the void as a dark empty space with nothing in it, but here he was standing on fluffy clouds with a giant citadel in the distance. There were a few other cities in the distance. They were smaller and less inhabited but they were bigger than anything else then Yoru had ever seen.

“Hello Yoru Faun, no wait, that's not right, Yoru Hibbaku,” said a man seemingly made of crystals. He had a sword on his back as well as a shield. He was several inches taller than Yoru. About six feet, maybe seven feet, tall.

“Who are you?” asked Yoru.

“My name is Jiyoda, Jiyoda Alltvaldt,” he said.

Where do I know that name from? “Nice to meet you, I guess,” said Yoru.

“Nice to meet you as well, Wyrmling,” said Jiyoda, “I have been waiting to meet you for a long time.” Did he just call me ‘Wyrmling’, maybe it’s like a title for a super powerful wizard! Or maybe not. “I have been wanting to recruit you for a very long time, around seven thousand fifty years.

Yoru laughed at that, “I wasn’t even close to being alive seven thousand fifty years ago!” he scoffed.

“Oh course you were. You were born several thousand years ago in the Magic Realm, to Thalorian and Limiria Hibbaku,” retorted Jiyoda.

This again… “Uh…sure…” said Yoru, scratching the back of his head. He was confused, to say the least.

“I believe that you will be a valuable asset to me in my army. You already know some of my soldiers,” Jiyoda flicked his wrist and said “Rellien.”

Iris walked out from behind a wall of clouds, her attire was more noble and seemed to be medieval. She had a blue linen tunic and red boots on. Iris had red gloves on and a capelet.

“Rellien, you’ve already bled through another pair of gloves, they are quite expensive you know,” said Jiyoda.

“It’s not my blood,” said Iris.

“I know that, Rellien,” said Jiyoda, “now Yoru. Please do consider my offer. I think you will find it quite nice here.”

Yoru hadn’t heard Jiyoda’s last statement, as he was crying. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at Iris.

“You're alive,” breathed Yoru, with a smile on his face.

“Of course I’m alive, dipshit, Amari Rellien never dies.”